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intu Uxbridge gives bereaved families a day to remember

Families who have lost a loved one were treated to a day out at the zoo by intu Uxbridge, to help them make new, happy memories.

The trip was one of the shopping centre’s many ongoing Charity of the Year activities for HALO Children’s Foundation, which helps local children and their families after a bereavement.

intu Uxbridge funded the trip to Kent’s Port Lympne zoo on Tuesday 30 July, for 35 children and parents, for a day of fun and memory making. HALO is the centres current charity of the year and as part of this support, days out such as this are organised to help support the charity itself and the families it supports. The families were joined on the coach trip by six members of intu Uxbridge staff, who went along to make sure everyone had a brilliant time.

intu Uxbridge arranged for a zoo ranger to give private walking tours to the families, and each child was given a £10 voucher to spend in the zoo gift shop, so they could take home a keepsake of the day to treasure at home.

Natasha House, marketing manager for intu Uxbridge, said: “Everyone had a wonderful day! It is so incredibly important for families to get to do this type of thing, and especially families like these who have been affected by such sadness. We wanted to help them to make new, lovely memories together, which can be hard after such life-changing events. It was great to see everyone smiling and enjoying themselves – they truly deserve it and we are glad we could make it happen.”

The intu Uxbridge day trip is the fourth annual event of its kind for families supported by the centre’s Charity of the Year, although the destination varies. For 2019, intu Uxbridge was delighted to be able to support Port Lympne and The Apsinall Foundation, which is the zoo’s animal conservation charity.

Natasha added: “Our strong relationships with partners such as Halo and Port Lympne zoo enable us to deliver positive change for the community, society and the world. We are lucky to be in this position and want to put it to good use in every way we can.”

In the five years since it launched, HALO has become a place relied on by hundreds of local children and families going through a bereavement. It offers advice, support and understanding during the toughest of times. Halo was set up by local mum Alia Jones in 2013, after her husband Lewis tragically died at 27, following a misdiagnosed brain tumour. With two young children – aged two years old and three weeks old – who Alia struggled to find support for, she set up a support group and website for others in a similar position.